Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A new mystery virus with symptoms similar to those of AIDS and HIV is turning up all over China, according to a recent report in The Epoch Times. Patients with the highly transmissible disease are experiencing dramatic weight loss, night sweats, numb limbs, severe body aches, joint problems, severe vomiting, and the obvious decrease in white blood cell count and subsequent deterioration of the immune system.

A translated report from the Chinese news source New Express Daily explains that people who contract the new AIDS-like virus -- which spreads through any bodily fluid, including saliva and sweat, by the way -- experience nearly all the same symptoms as AIDS patients do, but routinely test negative for the disease. And experts are allegedly unable to authoritatively identify the disease, or the source from which it came.

A reporter from New Express Daily recently interviewed 30 different patients with the disease, most of which were believed to have contracted it through sexual contact. But several of them contracted it from other sources, including one via a blood transfusion from a relative, and another from a friend at a casual house gathering. And their accounts are chilling.

"I thought it was just a cold at the time, so I still participated in all kinds of gatherings," explained a retired army officer with the disease to The Epoch Times. "Consequently, over 100 of my comrades in the army, relatives and friends were infected by me."

Reports say that the Chinese Health Ministry has ordered epidemiological studies in six provinces with high numbers of infected patients, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Guangdong. To date, though, there have been no conclusive discoveries made concerning the cause or source of the disease.